John Dabell
@johndabell
Incurable optimist living with incurable cancer. Hopepunk, Grit Spreader & Force Multiplier. The difference between a warrior and a worrier is a couple of vowels.
Happiness isn't waiting for everything to be right, it's noticing what is right today.
Optimism is pulling on an England shirt and believing this could be our year! Three Lions. One smile. Endless hope. 🏴⚽
On my way home from yet another hospital appointment. Back again next week. It never ends!
The reality and irony of life-threatening dysphagia and being nil by mouth is that it can mentally consume you.
You don't build resilience by complaining or comparing. You build it by doing hard things, repeatedly.
Bloom where you stand. Even after the hardest seasons, life finds a way to flower.
Resilience, hope and optimism are stitched into the seams of our souls. Sometimes life covers them with fear, pain or doubt, but they are still there.
Another chapter in the long story of head and neck cancer and its effects. A swallowing assessment today to see whether photobiomodulation has had any impact. I know I'm nil by mouth for life, but even a small improvement would be something worth celebrating.
Choices for today: 1. Fight. 2. Flight. 3. Freeze. 4. Flap. 5. Faff. 6. Flounder. 7. Focus. 8. Flex. 9. Flourish. I think I'm going to focus on 1, 7, 8 & 9.
1. Become fluent in optimism and speak hope into difficult days 2. Become fluent in optimism and learn the grammar of perseverance 3. Become fluent in optimism and let resilience shape your vocabulary 4. Become fluent in optimism and translate setbacks into opportunities
One more day of hospital this week, then two precious days away from appointments, waiting rooms and treatment. I can't wait.
Hats off to anyone working in this heat today. I’m struggling as a nil by mouth head & neck cancer patient just walking to hospital so I can only imagine what it's like doing a full shift in it.
Try being nil by mouth in a heatwave. Every ice cream. Every cold drink. Every advert. Every café. A thousand reminders a day that something most people take for granted is torture for me. The weather forecast says "stay hydrated." If only it were that simple!
When life fragments your plans, you can still piece together a good day.
Hospital every day this week but thankfully just as an out-patient! Photobiomodulation in progress.
Father's Day isn't about me. It's about my daughter. Watching her grow into the person she is today has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I couldn't be prouder. I received my first Stage IV cancer diagnosis on her second birthday.
A smile won't guarantee a good day, but it gives you a fighting chance.